This past summer my brother spent some time working as a tour guide for Argosy cruises in Seattle. Though it was near the end of the season he invited me and a friend to "do the tour" on a brisk beautiful Sunday in November.
The trip got off to a rocky start with a series of misadventures on our way to the boat. These included: getting lost, not being able to find the Argosy ticket booth, and the limited parking avaliblility in downtown Seattle. We literally arrived at the boat with not even a second to spare before it departed from the pier. I might add that we ONLY made it to the boat in time because I got lucky with a parking spot...and because I am just crazy enough to do whatever it took to get on that boat! I sent my friend Jen to pick up the tickets while I found a lucky parking spot. Feeling pretty good about myself my heart sank when I glanced down at my watch and it dawned on me that there was only one way I was going to make that boat and it would involve sprinting. Without a second thought I yanked off my high fashion high heeled winter boots and RAN in my mismatched socks like a mad woman through the muddy streets of downtown to make it to the pier in time. I can only imagine what must have gone through people's minds as they saw a crazy blond girl RUNNING her heart out with winter boots and dignity flapping behind her in the wind. I also wonder what must have gone through my brother's co-worker's minds as they saw me running up to the boat. My brother seemed completely unfazed which now that I think about it could be a little alarming...But never-the-less, I made it!
A few minutes after cast off, once I had hung my muddy socks on the railing to dry in the sun, I began to listen to the amazing guided tour that my brother had prepared. I am not just saying this because he is my brother but he is really good at engaging the audience, I was super proud. I also learned so many new facts about Seattle that made me so excited and proud to call myself a Seattleite.
Later, as the VIP guests on the boat, we got to go up to the bridge and meet the Captain. The whole experience was just awesome made that much better by it being one of those truly spectacular days in Seattle. We did the Argosy "Locks tour" which takes about 4 hours, I would highly recommend spending an afternoon doing this if you are ever in Seattle. Lake Union was the final stop at the end of the tour and we arrived there just in time for an amazing Seattle sunset. Oh and yes I thoroughly cleaned my feet after the tour!
Labels:
Seattle
Last Sunday Kingsley and I were looking to get out to the house and ride our bikes to somewhere new. We called up our friends Bonnie and Brett who live about 20 minutes away by bike on the East Coast and arranged to meet them at the recently opened Sinpopo Cafe on Joo Chiat Road.
Sinpopo Brand has an interesting array of nostalgic desserts and main dishes from Singapore streets of the 1950s. This restaurant is decked out in vintage decor and old-school furniture, complete with Chinese music from the bygone era.
This place sells traditional cuisine that is close to the hearts of Singaporeans, in fact we were the only non-Singaporeans in the restaurant. I have read that there are some items on the menu here that are a rare find these days, such as the Ais Bor which is a round ball of ice with colourings with red bean in it. It looks kinda like the shaved ice we used to order as kids in the US - minus the red beans of course.
We were a little boring with our order - Kingsley got the Orange Kaya Creme Brûlée and I had the red berry hot tea. But Bonnie and Brett were pretty adventurous and ordered the Gula Malaka Jelly - which I tried and is delicious. My understanding is that it is palm sugar jelly with tapioca balls in it soaked in a thick sweet coconut cream sauce. She also ordered the Red Date and Logan hot tea which she only had a few sips of so I'm guessing was not her "cup of tea" :). Brett ordered a kind of deep fried Chinese Chicken Hamburger - which evidently tasted "delicious but like a heart attack waiting to happen".
Gula Malaka Jelly
Desserts!
We had a fun afternoon trying someplace new and catching up with some friends. We also learned a new route home on our bikes and bought a few groceries at new shop along the way. Best of all we didn't get rained on the entire trip so overall it was a fun and successful Sunday adventure in Singapore.
Kingsley about to eat his Creme Brûlée with chopsticks!
Labels:
Living in Singapore
Our latest batch of kittens are actually not related. Harry Potter and Tiny Tot (both females) were found wandering around a school and a apartment building with no mama in sight. One was 2 weeks, one was 3 weeks. Initially they placed them in separate kennels but neither kitten was doing very well all on their own. They were very scared and not eating well so the SPCA tried putting them together and they instantly bonded. I have been caring for them for about two weeks. They are so cute together having no idea that they are not sisters.
Miss Harry Potter absolutely loves to snuggle and especially loves my hair and constantly trying to make a nest for herself with it!
Labels:
Kittens
While Cynthia was in town we took a quick girls getaway trip to Japamala beach resort on Tioman Island in Malaysia. It was beautiful!
Here is the view from our Bungalow tree house room. In my opinion our place had the best view on the island looking over a huge coral reef and crystal blue waters.
We spent our days relaxing, reading, snorkeling, kayaking and walking up and down the coral white sands in front of the hotel. We found the food to be incredible, breakfast was amazing with huge amount of choice from the buffet that is out each day and a la carte menu which offered omelets, pancakes and other traditional Malaysian dishes. They also served home made smoothies which we took advantage of every morning with the Morning Detox smoothy being our morning go-to drink! It had broccoli, tomatoes, cucumber and celery in it. And it was actually delicious!
Our first night in the room there was a huge tropical rainstorm with thunder so loud that the foundation of our cabin actually shook.
Happy Hour at Mandi Mandi restaurant at the end of the jetty from 6pm -7pm was our only standing appointment each day. Our favorite meal of the trip was the Thai yellow curry which we ordered everyday for lunch. Favorite quote from our waiter after being asked a million questions about the menu and food substitutions one evening..."if can I say can, if can not...CAN NOT."
This is a great weekend getaway from Singapore and I am amazed that there is such a remote and untouched paradise just a few hours away from Singapore. It takes a little over 4 hours to get there from Singapore. We hired a driver who picked us up at my house and drove us to Mersing in Malaysia where we were met by the hotels private boat which took us to the resort. The boat crossing took about an hour.
Monitor Lizard Tioman Island from
Lynn Wood on
Vimeo.
Tioman island monkeys from
Lynn Wood on
Vimeo.
Labels:
Malaysia
